Daniel-
Tamer of Lions
The biblical story of DANIEL IN THE LIONS’ DEN
The story: Daniel is an official in Babylon and is well liked by King Darius. The other officials are jealous of Daniel. They trick Darius into signing a law making it illegal to pray to any God except him. Daniel continues to pray to his own God, and Darius sadly has to have him arrested and thrown into the lions' den. Darius is upset by this and he cannot eat, sleep or be entertained by his exotic dancers. However, God protects Daniel and the lions do not harm him. The tricksters are thrown into the lions' den instead. This is a wonderful enjoyable musical play supported by three great original songs and an exotic dance number. No musical ability is needed if you use the backing tracks to sing along to.
Script and Music MAGIC PARROT PRODUCTIONS UK
Magic Parrot Productions14 Bolton Close, Chessington, Surrey, KT9 2JG, England
Tel: 020 8397 2569 Fax: 020 8397 3350 Email:
Not to be rehearsed or performed without a performance licence. Consult your invoice for details.
CAST LIST
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Narrator 1
Narrator 2
Daniel: An important official of Babylon
Darius: Emperor of Babylon
Queen: fawning wife of Darius
Exotic Dancers
Lions
Ruler 1: Assistant to Darius
Ruler 2: Assistant to Darius
Ruler 3: Assistant to Darius
Lawyer
Announcer1
Announcer2
Guard 1
Guard 2
People of Babylon
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DANIEL-TAMER OF LIONS
Setting: In and Near A Palace in Babylon
Narrator 1: Our story takes place hundreds of years ago, in a country far away called Babylon. This ancient country had several rulers. The head of the country was King Darius. He was so important that he was regarded as a God by his people. Look! Here he comes now. (Enter Darius, grandly, with 3 rulers and some people of Babylon.)
Ruler 1:(bowing) Greetings, your majesty!
Ruler 2:(bowing) Hail, mighty Darius, holy emperor of Babylon!
Ruler 3:(bowing) Long Live King Darius! (people of Babylon echo this 3 times)
Darius: I have decided to employ a supreme ruler, to help me govern this huge empire. Any ideas who I should choose?
Ruler 1: Choose me, sire! I am loyal and humble!
Darius: No way! I don’t think so! You are lazy and foolish! The supreme ruler must be hard working and intelligent!
Ruler 2: Ah, well, then! Look no further than me. I am at your service, your highness!
Darius: No way! You are cruel and devious! The supreme ruler must be kind and honest.
Ruler 3: Ahem! I knew it! You’ve chosen me, haven’t you, your majesty? After all, I am not just kind and honest. I am hunky and athletic too! (shows muscles)
Darius(laughing) No way! You are a weed, a bully and a coward. The supreme ruler must be fair, strong and brave!
Ruler 1: So please tell us - who have you chosen, O mighty one?
Darius: I will show you! (claps hands and calls) Daniel! (Daniel enters)
Daniel: You called me, sire?
Darius: Daniel. From now on, you will be my chief assistant, the supreme ruler of Babylon. I expect you to rule with dignity, wisdom and courage.
Daniel: Thank you your majesty! I will do my best to serve you well, King Darius.
Ruler 1 to Ruler 2: I know this man. He’s a foreigner! He is a Jew I think.
Ruler 3: Yes, he was captured and brought to Babylon years ago. (to Darius) Sire! Are you sure this man is suitable? He is not one of us.
Darius: Silence! Daniel is a natural leader and is full of wisdom. You will give Daniel your complete obedience and carry out his orders! Do you understand?
Rulers 1,2 and 3: (scowling) Very well , we obey, O great King Darius.
Darius: Come along, my fine fellow! We have work to do. (Exit Darius and Daniel. Rulers huddle, conspiring, rear of stage)
Narrator 2: The three rulers were furious. They couldn’t believe that a foreigner had been chosen instead of them! They wanted a way to get rid of Daniel, so they began to plot against him.
Ruler 1: What are we going to do? We can’t let Daniel have such an important job.
Ruler 2: We’ll have to get rid of him!
Ruler 3: But how? Give him some poison to drink? Use our swords on him? Run him over with a chariot? What kind of “accident” should we arrange for him?
Ruler 1: Wait a moment!We can’t just murder Daniel. The king is so fond of him. King Darius would do anything to catch the murderers. And we would be suspectsHold on! He’s coming! (Enter Daniel, who goes quietly to the other side of the stage and starts to pray)
Ruler 2: What’s he doing?
Ruler 3: We worship many gods, but Daniel is Jewish. He only worships the God of Israel. He says his God is the only true God.
Ruler 1: Interesting! That gives me an idea! Listen to me, my friends.(Huddle, whispering. Exit all)
Narrator 1: The jealous rulers plotted and came up with an idea to trick Darius and Daniel. They went to the king with their evil plan. (Enter King, and then rulers with scroll and pen)
Ruler 1: O worthy honourable King, live forever!
Ruler 2: Hail, Hail, Hail, We greet you! Oh marvellous King Darius!
Ruler 3: Greetings, O great King of Babylon!
Ruler 1: We have been talking. We think you should make a new law. For thirty days no one should pray to any God except you. It is all our idea. We thought of it to honour you! We hope you are pleased with us! Please sign here your majesty!
Queen: Oh, dear husband! What a lovely idea. Your rulers must think you are a fantastic king.
Darius: Well, I am a fantastic king! Yes, it’s a good idea. Glad I thought of it! I will sign this new law at once. (Exit all)
Ruler 2: (aside) And if anyone disobeys the law, they will be thrown to the lions.
Ruler 3: (aside) We will soon be rid of Daniel. He will never pray to a different God. So Darius will have to throw him to the lions!!
Narrator 1: Smiling, the rulers watched King Darius sign the new law. They knew that once a law was signed it could not be changed. The law was then announced to everyone in the land. (Exit all. Enter announcers and people of Babylon.)
Announcer 1: Gather round! Gather round! Good people of Babylon! I have an announcement. For the next thirty days it has been decreed that all citizens will only pray to our great God and King, King Darius!
Announcer 2: Hear ye! Hear ye! Let it be known that any citizen who does not pray to King Darius will be put to death!
All: Hail, King Darius!!!! (Exit all)
Narrator 2: As soon as Daniel heard the announcement, he realized it was a trap. He must either stop praying to God, or risk being thrown to the lions. (Enter Daniel)
Daniel: What am I going to do? How can save my life? I could stop praying to God for thirty days. Maybe I could pray silently in my head. I suppose I could even run away. I know, I could find a hiding place and pray there!No, I know what I must do! (kneels to pray)
Narrator 1: Daniel knelt down where he always prayed. He faced towards Jerusalem, a city in his in his own country far away.
Narrator 2:Daniel prayed to God to help him with this problem. Daniel did not try and hide his prayer. He prayed just like he always did.
Ruler 1:(entering with Ruler 2, Ruler 3, Guard 1 and Guard 2) Aha! Look! Daniel is praying to his own God, just like usual.
Ruler 2: Are you offering a prayer to King Darius of Babylon?
Ruler 3: Speak the truth…..tell us who you are praying to!
Daniel: I always speak the truth! I cannot pray to the king. There is only one true God. I was praying to Him.
Ruler 1: Guards! Arrest this man! Take him away.
END OF SCRIPT SAMPLE
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